Model Behaviour
by Cherry Delight
Summary: When KaibaCorp needs a new PR specialist, Seto and Jou are miraculously thrown together after years apart. However, unless they can deal with their complicated past, they'll never find out if second chances really do exist. Sequel to "Only U" and "Destruction." S/J. Ongoing.
1. Chapter 1

Kaiba checked his watch for the third time in the last five minutes.

"He's late," he ground out to his brother, seated next to him at the long conference table.

"It's only a couple of minutes. Don't worry, he'll be here," Mokuba replied lightly. He flashed his brother a quick grin, and Kaiba rankled.

Seto Kaiba and his brother, Mokuba, along with a few other KaibaCorp executives, were in the conference room of an upscale hotel in the heart of Domino City, waiting to meet with their new publicist from their new public relations firm. Mokuba, as Head of Media had assured him that this up and coming boutique firm was the best choice to handle their company's re-invention before the release of their new gaming platform. He also said that the firm had a young hotshot PR rep who supposedly worked miracles. Kaiba was the last person to admit failure, professional or otherwise, but even he had to admit that sales had not been going as well as they should have been. Mokuba, as Head of Sales, had assured him that a new image was just the thing to save their ailing company and boost their figures.

He checked his watch again. Six minutes late. He was just about to let Mokuba know his opinions on the professional calibre of persons who were late for important business meetings when the door sprang open and a small group of people came in, led by a fair-haired, brown-eyed man with a wide grin on his face.

"Good morning, everyone!" he said cheerfully as he strode to the empty side of the conference table.

Kaiba stared incredulously as Katsuya Jounouchi came to a stop right in front of him, looking down at him from across the table. They studied each other in silence while their parties exchanged greetings and other pleasantries around them. It had been so long since they had seen one another, and each was different than the other remembered in countless subtle ways, but the exactly same in so many more. Kaiba quietly took Jou in, his long golden hair curling at the nape of his neck, his lean but muscular form, perfectly showcased by his trendy designer clothes, that strong jaw with just a hint of stubble. He couldn't help but let his gaze wander to Jou's lips, full and inviting, the corners pulled up into a lopsided smile. From there it was just a short trip back up to Jou's eyes, raging amber depths that made his breath hitch in his throat and his heart pound harder with each beat. They continued to say nothing as they simply looked at each other, time seemingly standing still.

"…right, Seto?" Mokuba's voice penetrated the haze around them, and just like that, the reverie was broken. Kaiba mentally roused himself, scraping his metaphorical jaw off the ground and gathering his wits. He remembered that he was angry, and decided to greet Jou appropriately.

"I see time has not curbed your tardiness," Kaiba snapped at Jou, clenching his fists.

"Oh, I actually got here early, but I waited for fifteen minutes in the lobby before I came up. Wanted to make an entrance, I guess," Jou shrugged flippantly as he slid into the chair directly across from Kaiba. Kaiba seethed as Jou made himself comfortable. He was every bit the brash, swaggering asshole that Kaiba remembered, and a sudden wave of nostalgia engulfed him, threatening to send him spiralling.

In the years since Kaiba had last seen Jou, he'd tried to put him as far out of his mind as possible. He'd had no idea what Jou had been doing in Domino City all this time, having stoically resisted the urge to look him up. He'd actually had to restrain himself on more than one occasion, if he was being honest. And now he found himself staring straight into his past, at all the secret things he kept carefully hidden behind his alabaster façade. He felt it all welling up inside of him, long-buried memories and feelings, first seeping through the cracks, now rushing back, pure chaos swirling in his chest. And while he sat there with his viscera churning, struggling to remain impassive, Jou's eyes continued to bore into him, sizzling to his core, an infuriating lilt on his lips. He wanted to punch his brother in the face. How could he put the future of their company in the hands of this grinning idiot?

Kaiba quickly surveyed Jou's entourage, three other young men and one woman that he instantly recognised as Anzu Mazaki. He briefly wondered how she came to work with the blond buffoon, but immediately dismissed the question, it was useless information.

"So," Jou smiled broadly, looking every bit like the cat that got the cream. Or maybe, the dog that got the bone. "What can we do for you?"

The shock and anger bubbling inside of Kaiba boiled over, and he turned to his brother in consternation. "This is who you were talking about? You can't honestly think I would –"

"I actually knew you wouldn't, that's why I didn't tell you," Mokuba admitted ruefully. "But I promise you he comes highly recommended!" he hastened to add. "Everyone says great things about him!"

"Oh, I've heard what they say," Kaiba said, turning his eyes to Jou. "I didn't do any digging into the firm – or you – because I trusted my brother, but I have heard the rumours. Party animal, reckless, womaniser. That's quite a reputation," Kaiba finished, lips curling in derision, as he looked Jou up and down disdainfully.

A disapproving tut came from Anzu's general direction and Jou's smirk grew even wider, evoking a wrath in Kaiba that was all too familiar. Kaiba clenched his jaw so hard he thought his molars might crack. Why did everything Jou did still make Kaiba want to kick the shit out of him?

"There's obviously a method to the madness," Mokuba rebutted nervously, shooting an anxious glance across the table at Jou. This meeting was clearly not going the way he'd planned. Kaiba could see Mokuba enter crisis mode, and watched him instantaneously switch gears.

"Look, we came all this way for this meeting, we should at least hear him out." Mokuba had resorted to open cajoling, and Kaiba could see how much he really wanted to hire Jou. Which would normally be an instinct he would follow without hesitation. He had trusted his brother with KaibaCorp dealings for so long now that it was almost second-nature to default to Mokuba's suggestions. He couldn't remember the last time he double-checked his brother's information or recommendations, and couldn't help but feel like it was his own fault he was so caught off guard. Mokuba had conned him, pure and simple. He hadn't done his due diligence, which Mokuba had obviously counted on, and now here he was, face to obnoxious face with the Duellist of Christmas Past. He didn't know if he was more angry at himself, or his brother, or Jou right now, and his momentary indecision offered Jou the perfect opening to once again address them.

"Well, if you're done talking about me like I'm not here," Jou started smoothly, "we should get down to business. What can we do for you?" he asked again, looking so damned smug, nestled in his chair.

"You can leave," was Kaiba's icy response.

"Aw, that's not very nice. I'm here to help you, whether you like it or not." The twinkle in Jou's eyes only served to make Kaiba even more irritated, and he quickly fired back.

"I don't need your help, I don't need anything from you."

"We both know that's not true," Jou said plainly, looking Kaiba square in the eye. Jou's cockiness upset Kaiba more than he knew it should. He knew it was petty, but he wanted to knock him down a peg. Or ten. He opened his mouth despite himself, knowing exactly what to say to wipe that smile off of Jou's face, to hurt him, break him.

"Haven't you learned your lesson by now? I don't want anything to do with you," Kaiba enunciated clearly.

"Fuck you," Jou spat out, immediately incensed, and Kaiba narrowed his eyes.

"Not in this lifetime," Kaiba sneered back. The air crackled between them, electric with tension.

Anzu looked back and forth between Jou and Kaiba glaring daggers at each other over the conference table and decided to intervene before someone launched himself across the table. She cleared her throat and interjected pacifyingly.

"Ok, that got heated really quickly. Can we please try and keep this civil? We'll be working together now. This high school drama was, like, ten years ago."

"Twelve," they corrected her in unison.

"Anzu is right," Mokuba chimed in. "We work together now."

"And you already paid for six months of our services, up front," Jou added matter-of-factly.

"Then I want someone else," Kaiba countered.

"No," Mokuba said quickly. "I specifically asked for him. Jou is very good at what he does, we need him."

"Mokuba," Kaiba turned to face his brother. "I refuse to work with him," Kaiba said solemnly, brother to brother, and he knew that Mokuba would respect his wishes.

"Seto," Mokuba replied, just as solemnly, "It's a done deal. Suck it up, big bro."

Kaiba closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips against his eyelids. Mokuba had become so self-assured, so headstrong, so very much the man, the partner, the leader that Kaiba had always imagined he would be. He was disheartened to find himself on the receiving end of his brother's authority, but he accepted it in stride. The initial shock of the past few minutes was wearing off, and he considered things a little more rationally. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Mokuba had been the face of KaibaCorp for quite some time now, taking over most of the publicity aspects so that Kaiba could concentrate on KaibaCorp's technological development, and other sundry endeavours. Kaiba most likely wouldn't ever see Jou again, save for the odd PR event. He conceded, albeit reluctantly.

"Fine, Mokuba. But he is your responsibility. You deal with him."

"Of course," Mokuba assured Kaiba. "I'll make sure you don't ever have to –"

"Actually," Jou cut in, "I had an idea to revitalise your brand that might interfere with that little arrangement."

"Oh?" Mokuba looked intrigued, but Kaiba was immediately wary. He didn't trust Jou to tie his own shoelaces, let alone "revitalise his brand," and he waited to hear Jou's insipid plan.

"Well," Jou started confidently, "we all know that Mokuba's been the only one pulling his weight lately when it comes to the company's PR. He's been in all the magazines, he's been giving all the interviews, doing the talk show circuit and all that jazz. Now, not that people don't love you, little guy, you're a stud –"

"Thanks," Mokuba graciously accepted.

"– but it's time to switch it up. We need to bring Kaiba back in the spotlight, people are dying to know what the fuck he's been up to all this time."

"Language!" Anzu jabbed Jou in the ribs, eliciting a sharp hiss, and he continued more carefully while the Kaiba brothers looked on guardedly.

"Look, when you took over KaibaCorp, it was crazy. It was non-stop press and corporate conspiracies and tournaments – it was sensational."

"Then we'll have another tournament," Kaiba deadpanned.

"No, it's more than that. It's you." Jou leaned forward a little, talking to Kaiba as if they were the only ones in the room, his voice velvety and hypnotic.

"You were at the centre of all of it. It's the attitude and the big coat and your…dumb face – I dunno. There's this mystery about you that people are just drawn to. They wanna know what's your favourite food, what kind of music you like, where you buy your clothes. They wanna figure you out. And we can use that."

"I respectfully decline," Kaiba stated forcefully, his tone much harsher than was strictly necessary. He was overcompensating. Jou's steady gaze and his even timbre stirred something in him, something not altogether unpleasant, something he absolutely refused to acknowledge. He had to make it clear that he had no intention of taking part in whatever media joyride Jou was intent on dragging him through. However, it seemed that he was the only one who felt that way.

"No…I think he's right, Seto," Mokuba said slowly, turning to face his brother. "The first thing people always ask me is what's going on with my reclusive brother. They want to see you, talk to you. I think it's worth a shot."

Kaiba shook his head, unhappy to be rehashing this topic again. "We've talked about this. You're doing a very good job, I don't see why –"

"I know we've talked about it but we should talk about it again! You don't get to –"

"We should discuss this in private," Kaiba growled through gritted teeth, and the room settled into awkward silence as the brothers stared each other down for a moment.

"You're right," Mokuba relented, and he swung around to face the room. "Give us five minutes," he said curtly, pushing back his chair and heading for the door to the hallway, his brother following suit.

After shutting the door behind them, positive there was no one within earshot, Mokuba started earnestly before Kaiba could say anything. "Big bro, I love you, and I love this company, our company, and I don't want to see it ruined. I wouldn't have brought him here unless he was good at his job, and he's actually better than good, he's great! He already knows us, he knows the company, he knows how much it means to us. And we can trust him, he'd never screw us over, you know that. All in all, I don't think there's anyone better out there. I really believe that he can do this. I know that you two had your issues, but after everything we've been through, how far we've come, don't let this stupid high school bullshit be the thing that brings us down. If you love this company too, you would do this. For us." Mokuba finished his tirade and fixed Kaiba with an expression he hadn't seen since childhood, the infamous puppy eyes, and as old as he was, goddamnit, it still got to him. Mokuba was really pulling out all the stops to convince him to hire Jou, leaving no weapon unsheathed.

And Mokuba was right, of course. After all these years of struggling and fighting to keep the company alive, hell, just to keep it, would he really let his history with Katsuya Jounouchi stand in the way of his continued success? He took a moment to ponder the conundrum, weighing the pros and cons, but in the end, he knew that there was no sensible way that he could justify turning down Jou's plan, as much as he disliked it, as much personal anguish as it would bring him. At least, not without opening a giant can of killer worms that no one on Planet Earth was ready for, especially him. He admitted defeat, grudgingly admiring his little brother's fervour.

"You, my dear brother," Kaiba started, clapping his hands on either side of Mokuba's face, "are an exceptional manipulator."

"I learned from the best," Mokuba smiled wryly, pulling Kaiba down into a brief hug. "I know you don't want to do this," Mokuba said, pulling away. "But I swear I'll make it up to you. I'll do anything."

"I'll remember you said that," Kaiba threw over his shoulder as he reached for the door. "If this goes wrong, I will collect on that promise," Kaiba threatened menacingly before striding into the room, and Mokuba shivered as he followed his brother through the doorway.

"Ok, we're in!" Mokuba exclaimed as soon as they closed the door behind them, probably afraid that Kaiba would change his mind.

"Seriously?" Jou asked in disbelief. He had turned around in his seat at the sound of the door, and stood to take Mokuba's outstretched hand in obvious surprise. He clearly never thought that the elder Kaiba would go for it, and Jou's eyes followed him as he rounded the conference table.

"It's a done deal, right?" Kaiba droned, heading for his seat again. The room was suddenly abuzz with activity, their two teams immediately arranging meetings and contract clauses and non-disclosure agreements.

"You better not mess this up," Mokuba muttered to Jou as they shook hands, eyeing his older brother. "He is going to kill me if anything goes wrong."

"Don't worry, little man. I got it," Jou assured him.

"Good," Mokuba replied. "Oh, and don't call me little man. I'm twenty-five for God's sake."

Jou let out a hearty laugh and brought up his hands in mock surrender. "You're right, my bad. I'm sorry, but when I look at you I can't help but see that little brat that kicked me in the shins because I said your brother had stupid hair. You were one mean little kid!"

"I did do that, didn't I?" Mokuba chuckled, showing absolutely no remorse. "Well, let's call it even."

"Alright, even. Look, the proposals are on the table, go through them, let us know what you want to keep, what you want to toss, what you want to change, and then we'll get started. Sound good?"

"Sounds great. We'll be in touch."

"Good," Jou smiled, and signalled his team that the meeting was over. He turned to meet Kaiba's piercing stare, and returned it calmly.

"Looking forward to working with you," Jou intoned, his smooth voice belying nothing, his face a composed mask of professionalism. "Mr. Kaiba," he added, with a crooked smile, before following his team out of the room. Kaiba scowled after them sullenly, feeling like he had just signed his own death warrant. Mokuba clapped his hand on his brother's shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry, he's got it," Mokuba assured Kaiba. But Kaiba was worried. For so many reasons, most of which Mokuba had no clue about, he was beyond worried. He was downright petrified.

 **o.o.o.o.o.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.o.o.o.o.o.**

 **Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one!**


	2. Chapter 2

Jou walked to his desk while Anzu shut the door of their well-appointed office behind them. Their firm was in one of Domino City's tallest high rises, and floor to ceiling windows wrapped around them. One of the perks of being a veritable phenom at the agency was getting to use one of the best offices, which was usually a safe haven from whatever crazy situation he and Anzu were battling at the moment. Presently, however, Jou could sense the tension that followed them into the room like a heavy fog, and he just stood there in anticipation, peering out at the rest of the city. He didn't have long to wait.

Now that they were safely ensconced in their office, Anzu whirled around to face Jou. "Ok, what the hell was that in there? That went way beyond some high school grudge."

Jou knew that his and Kaiba's behaviour today appeared totally out of proportion to the innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. The more he thought about it, the more he realised how ridiculous they must have looked, snarling at each other across the table. He was actually a little – ok, a lot – pissed at himself, at how easily he let Kaiba get under his skin like that – yet again. He really should have learned his lesson by now. However, it seemed that whatever lingering resentment Jou had been harbouring all these years had festered and become something more vicious than even he anticipated, and he'd been wholly unprepared for how strongly he'd react to Kaiba's obvious goading. That wasn't exactly how he saw today going.

All he'd seen in his mind's eye when he accepted Mokuba's offer to work with the Kaibas was himself, savouring the look of shock on Kaiba's stupid face when he walked through the door. He had to admit, though, that part had been every bit as satisfying as he'd imagined. Jou recalled Kaiba, sitting on the other side of the conference table with his flawlessly tailored suit and perfect cheekbones, absolutely stunned. Kaiba had been beyond shocked. He was astonished, flabbergasted, thunderstruck. It had been delightfully delicious, and it was an image Jou would be replaying for years to come.

But now that the fun part was over, he realised that he hadn't really thought this through. He hadn't stopped to consider what would come afterwards, namely, the fact that working with Kaiba actually meant that they'd have to interact like normal people, that he'd have to treat Kaiba like any other client. He was going to have to be a lot more cautious if he wanted to survive this ordeal in one piece, starting with his partner.

He decided to play it cool with Anzu, apologetic but positive. The sooner they moved past it, the easier it would be to get back on track. He turned to face her and affected what he hoped was a sheepish expression.

"I'm sorry! He just pushes all my buttons. And hey, everything worked out fine in the end, so –"

"Do not try to manage me right now! 'Sorry' is not gonna cut it!" Anzu was more fired up than usual, Jou noted. He would have to try harder. "He is the biggest client we've ever gotten – probably ever will get! It's bad enough that he already thinks you're a modern-day Caligula! How could you talk to him like that? Please tell me that this is not going to be a problem!"

Jou was about to open his mouth and make the usual denials, but he stopped short. He looked at her, indignant and fuming, and he honestly understood her anger. She had no idea why Kaiba always riled him up like this, she couldn't imagine what would make him snap like that after finally seeing Kaiba for the first time in twelve years. But Anzu was his partner now, right? His right-hand gal. To keep her out of the loop now would be counter-productive, he told himself. Maybe she needed to know, for this giant shit show to actually work out. It had nothing to do with the fact that he had been keeping it in for years and was bursting at the seams. It was just a smart business decision, really.

"Well?!" Anzu's eyes flashed impatiently, and Jou made a split-second decision. He knew he shouldn't, but he had to tell someone, and it was Anzu's lucky day. He strode to their office door and locked it, hesitating a tick before returning to Anzu and pulling her down onto the nearby sofa with him, levelling her with an intense gaze.

"What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room. Do you hear me? You cannot tell anyone else. I mean it – no one!"

Anzu had a sixth sense for Hot Gossip, and Jou could tell from the way that she instantly perked up that she was immediately intrigued.

"Ok, sure. What is it?"

She looked almost excited, she could tell from Jou's serious demeanour that this would be big. He wondered how long that excitement would last after she'd heard what he had to say. He knew there would be no coming back from this. Was he really ready? Could he really do it? He took a deep breath and steeled himself, trying to figure out how to finally confess his deepest, darkest secret, the one thing he'd never told anyone. He just had to open his mouth and say it, right?

"When we were kids, Kaiba and I, we…we were…" he faltered, and Anzu just stared at him expectantly. He cleared his throat a little, and after steadying himself, he tried again.

"Do you remember that time Kaiba and I got detention for fighting in the hall?"

"Are you kidding me? I think that was the only time he ever got punished for anything," Anzu replied, smiling at the memory.

"Yeah, well that night he kissed me. And I kissed him back." He monitored Anzu's reaction as he continued. "And then he took me back to his house, and we…" he trailed off, unable to finish, not that he had to. Anzu's already slack jaw completely dropped open, and her eyes bugged out. It took her a while to produce coherent sounds, but she eventually managed to respond.

"Are…are you joking, because it's not funny, Jou!" She didn't believe him, couldn't. Hell, if he hadn't been the one bent over the sofa, he probably wouldn't believe it either.

"I promise you, I am not joking," Jou said gravely. He returned her bewildered, searching gaze with his own, full of abject sincerity, a silent plea for acceptance.

"So…you and Kaiba…had sex," Anzu said slowly, trying to wrap her mind around the most disturbing thing that she could possibly learn on an unassuming Tuesday morning.

"Yes," Jou breathed after a long pause, and a tingling thrill ran through him. He'd finally done it, and he felt a huge weight lift off his chest. Who knew that this would feel so good? He plunged ahead, his voice stronger, less shaky. "We had sex. That night, and for a while after that."

"How long is 'a while,' Jou?" Anzu asked dazedly, still clearly shell-shocked.

Jou shrugged noncommittally.

"Until he left."

He watched Anzu do some quick mental maths before she rounded on him again.

"Jou, that's almost a year!" Anzu cried shrilly. Jou winced, and his response was soft and remorseful.

"I know."

"You never said anything, I had no idea…you lied to us!" Anzu's pained accusation hung in the air between them, and he had to look away from her, he was so ashamed.

And there it was. The relief he felt over finally spilling his guts evaporated in a flash, and that familiar cold, hard guilt came rushing back in its place.

"I know," he rasped again, his chest tightening. "But please Anzu, please, don't hate me."

"Oh, Jou, I don't hate you but I'm…disappointed. We were friends, we told each other everything. At least, I thought we did. I mean, Yugi had the ghost of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh in his head…and we went around duelling villains with monster cards and…and going on magical treasure hunts to save the world! And after all the crazy stuff we did together, everything we shared, you still had a secret boyfriend that you never told us about. And it was Kaiba, of all people!"

Jou smiled a little at Anzu's synopsis of their teenage years, only she could make it sound like a kooky kids' adventure show. But she was still right. They _were_ friends, they were the best friends he'd ever had, that anyone could ever have, and that's why it still tore him up inside that he had kept this thing with Kaiba a secret. He refused to call it anything else; the events that had transpired between them all those years ago didn't deserve a title or designation. It was just a random, chaotic, destructive thing that happened between two antagonistic strangers, and he wouldn't let Anzu develop any misconceptions about what had actually occurred with him and Kaiba. This was a chance to try and set things right, at least with her, and he had to do it right or it would eat him alive. He'd deal with the rest in due time. He looked deep into her eyes and laid it all out for her, as honestly as he could.

"Look, he was not my boyfriend. It definitely wasn't a real relationship, or anything. Hell, we weren't even friends, we could barely stand each other," he scoffed. "But he was my first. I mean, I'd fooled around a bit with girls before, but…my first time was Kaiba. I…had a lot of firsts with Kaiba, actually. I'd never felt anything like that before and I couldn't tell anyone or it would be over, I knew that. I just wanted to hold onto that feeling for as long as I could and then we were done before I knew it, so I just…never said anything. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys, I really am."

Jou could see Anzu's rancour subsiding, grudging forgiveness softening her rigid posture. He felt some of the pressure on his chest ease, but he still felt terrible. He wondered about when he'd have to do this again with the others, if it would be easier or harder. People always said that telling the truth got easier every time, but he couldn't imagine having to go through this whole awful process again with everyone. He knew Yugi would be easy, Yugi was the kindest, most non-judgemental person he'd ever met. But Honda could be a jerk when he was ready, and his sister…trying to explain it to her would be the absolute worst. Maybe he'd lucked out by starting with Anzu. Coming clean to her definitely hadn't been great, but it definitely wasn't as bad as it could have been either. He watched her silently trying to reconcile all that she'd heard in the past few minutes, and he was so thankful for her friendship he started to feel shitty all over again.

"It makes so much sense now," she said, half to herself. "You were always bailing on us with the lamest excuses and I thought…" Anzu shook her head, an odd look on her face.

"What?"

"I thought it was your dad," she said sadly, "so I never pushed it."

A friend to the end, Jou thought, feeling like scum.

"All those karaoke nights," she said numbly.

"Kaiba," Jou confirmed, beyond apologetic.

"The movies? The arcade? The water park?"

He nodded, ducking his head, too embarrassed for words.

She gasped, her eyes narrowing. "My birthday party!" she exclaimed reproachfully. He groaned, he'd hoped she wouldn't remember that one.

"Ugh, I'm sorry!" he professed again, but Anzu's pout was considerably less severe than he deserved.

She looked up at him after a beat, curious.

"How did you guys break up?"

He hesitated, contemplating just how much he was willing to tell Anzu; which parts were fair game, and which parts he would take to his grave. While he deliberated, she clarified her question.

"I mean, why? Did you have a fight, or…?"

"Oh, so much worse," Jou chuckled wryly. In for a penny, in for a pound, right? "I told him I loved him. And I did too, I really did."

Anzu's face melted into a mask of pity, which Jou chose to disregard.

"What happened?" Anzu warbled, getting teary-eyed.

"He left," Jou said bluntly. "Two days later he was outta there."

To be precise, Kaiba – without so much as a word to Jou – had fucked off to America, with his little brother in tow, to work on what would eventually become the American branch of KaibaLand. He had learned that information a full week later thanks to the media circus surrounding Kaiba's sudden disappearance. Armed with that knowledge, Jou had convinced himself that Kaiba leaving had had nothing to do with him, he'd been planning to move away long before Jou ever said anything to him about his clearly misplaced feelings. Somehow, though, that had made him feel even worse. Never mind that Kaiba had had all the emotional maturity of a stunted bonsai tree, and was obviously incapable of dealing with human sentiment on any level, far less the terrifying confession of Jou's very real, very unexpected adolescent love. It had been doomed from the start. A futile exercise in emotional torture that was not only a colossal waste of his time, but was also probably the most foolish instance of self-inflicted trauma in the history of mankind. Pointless punishment.

"– kind of romantic if you think about it," Anzu had continued talking while he zoned out, lost in his memories. "You were each other's firsts and now here you are after all this time, meeting again –"

"What? I never said that," Jou corrected her, ignoring the maudlin direction her words were heading.

"You just said-"

"I said he was my first. I never said I was his," Jou informed her coolly.

"Oh my God! So Kaiba was with someone before you?"

Jou balked at Anzu's excited squeals, suddenly tumbling back to reality. This conversation had gotten way out of hand, and he had to stop it before it went any further.

"No, I didn't say that either," he said quickly, scrambling for words. "Urgh, I shouldn't have said anything...that was private, I... forget you heard that, ok? Actually, forget you heard everything that I just told you."

A cold pang of panic suddenly gripped him, vice-like, and he wanted to backtrack the last few minutes, hours – no, every single poor life decision that had led him to this point. If he hadn't bought that ugly-ass jacket last week, if he hadn't run that red light on the way to work this morning, or if he hadn't stolen his neighbour's newspaper four months ago, maybe then he'd have had the willpower to keep his fat mouth shut for another twelve years. The unrealised possibilities were endless, and meant absolutely fuck all right now.

"Are you kidding me? As if I could! This is the most exciting thing I've heard in years!" Anzu beamed up at him in exhilaration, all evidence of hurt or betrayal gone from her shining face.

"Well, will you at least pretend like you don't know anything, please?" Jou asked despondently, the sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach getting heavier and heavier. "At least, until I tell the others."

"Oh, I will! Your secret's safe with me. Cross my heart and hope to die!" Anzu reassured him enthusiastically. Jou looked into her eager face and his insides twisted despite himself. He knew Anzu well enough to know that she had never been able to keep a secret in her whole life, no matter how hard she tried.

What had he just done? In one nanosecond of weakness, he had opened his big mouth and said the words, and there was no taking it back. It was inevitable, it was going to come out now, he knew it. Maybe he'd known it deep down from the very start, from the second he decided to take this job. It would start with Anzu and it would slowly ripple through the universe until every living being in the cosmos knew that he and Kaiba had been teenage enemy fuck buddies. He quietly ruminated on the possibility of total exposure. Anzu must have seen the despair on his face because she reached out and squeezed his hand tight.

"Don't worry, Jou. Everything will be fine," she comforted him with a gentle smile, and God help him, he actually took the tiniest bit of solace in the fact that at least now he had the ally he desperately needed to make it out of this dumpster fire of a project alive.

"Look, I told you everything because we're partners, ok," he said to her plainly. "After what just happened…I don't know if I can trust myself to keep it strictly professional. You know what I'm like, I just haul off and do shit without thinking and I can't afford to do that with Kaiba, this account is too big. I know it's a lot to ask, but I need you to keep an eye on me, keep me in check. Stop me from killing him. Or worse."

"What could be worse than killing him?"

Jou broke into a cynical grin and snorted his amusement.

"Just, please. If you think I'm spinning out, just snap me out of it."

"Of course, Jou."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." He smiled at her gratefully, then rose to grab his belongings from his desk. He started toward the door, keen to escape Anzu's insatiable curiosity. He knew he'd dropped the bombshell of all bombshells on her without so much as a friendly warning, and he knew that she had a million and one questions, but he really couldn't deal with that onslaught right now. It had taken so much out of him just to finally tell her the truth. He needed to clear his mind somewhere away from the office; refocus, regroup, and recover his energy. He needed more time to come up with a better strategy to deal with Kaiba and get his work done, without incurring casualties along the way.

"Look, I'm gonna head out now, so just –"

"Wait!" Anzu yelled before Jou opened the door. Jou stopped and looked back at her, hand on the doorknob.

"So, how was it?" The naughty gleam in her eyes told him unequivocally what she really wanted to know, and he was honestly surprised it had taken her this long to ask.

"How was what?" Jou asked, pretending not to catch on.

"You know!" she gesticulated. "The sex," she stage-whispered, when he made no move to volunteer any answers.

Jou considered lying, or telling her it was none of her business, but he ultimately settled on the truth.

"Best sex of my life," he said simply, closing the door behind him.

 **o.o.o.o.o.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.o.o.o.o.o.**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed!**


	3. Chapter 3

Kaiba and Jou sat in the cavernous boardroom at Jou's PR firm, staring at each other from across an unnecessarily large conference table. This room, and the few others Kaiba had seen on his perp-walk through the hallways, shared a common motif; every wall was made completely of thick glass. Utter nothingness surrounding them on all sides, which left Kaiba feeling quite ambivalent. On the one hand, he really didn't want to be alone with Jou any more than necessary, and sitting in plain view of everyone was a good way to accomplish that. On the other hand, the not-so-discreet glances and excited whispers from random employees were annoying at best, insolent at worst. Not that he wasn't used to causing this reaction wherever he went, he just expected better of an establishment whose sole purpose was supposed to be representing high-profile clients. He looked over his steepled fingers at the blond sitting opposite him, who was obviously peeved as well. He deduced from Jou's scowl that he himself might be the cause, and thought that maybe the transparent walls were working in his favour after all, otherwise things might not be so calm in their glass cage.

This was the first time they were truly alone since they'd seen each other a week ago at the hotel. Kaiba had not been kidding when he'd told Mokuba that Jou was his responsibility, and he hadn't laid eyes on Jou since. Aiming to get started as soon as possible, Jou and Mokuba had met numerous times in the intervening period, and Mokuba had relayed all of their decisions and strategies to him. There was a six-month timeline in place for their project, counting down to the launch date of their new virtual reality gaming platform. During that time, if Mokuba's reports were to be believed, Jou was planning to get KaibaCorp as much publicity as possible by pimping Kaiba out to every magazine, TV station, podcast and God knew what else in a one-thousand-mile radius; which Kaiba, unsurprisingly, was none too pleased about. However, there were just some things that he had to deal with in person. Like this inane question-answer session.

"Favourite food."

"So I can get poisoned?"

Jou drew a line on the paper in front of him.

"Favourite song? Favourite band?"

Kaiba's eyes glazed over while he searched his memory, plumbing their depths for some semblance of an answer and, sadly, failing. Kaiba found that music distracted him when he worked. He knew that people listened to music when they relaxed, but he hadn't done that in…never. He'd never done that. He wasn't even sure what the last song he consciously listened to was. Maybe his last mandatory piano lesson? Did the muzak in the KaibaCorp elevators count? Jou had obviously waited as long as he was going to, as he sighed and answered for him.

"That's a no." Another line.

"How about politics?" he continued.

"What, specifically, about politics?"

"Who you voted for, thoughts on policy reform –"

"No," Kaiba interrupted, slightly disgusted. "Why are we even doing this?"

"I already told you, we need to have a list of topics that you've agreed to talk about to share with the interviewers so that _they_ don't say something you don't like, and _you_ don't storm off the set, buy the TV station and fire everyone inside it."

Kaiba smirked at Jou's words, remembering his impetuous youth. He'd been a lot more quick-tempered then, vicious and spiteful. He was still all of those things, of course, but now that he was older and supposedly wiser, he'd taken great pains to cultivate and maintain an admirable veneer of civility, which kept him from being too rash. Or at the very least, from firing two hundred people in one day.

"That happened one time."

"Well, we would like to keep the number at zero, thanks. Our firm would be responsible for your actions, after all." Jou's tone was extremely perfunctory, Kaiba noted with no small amount of amusement.

"Where did this list even come from?" Kaiba asked, idly taking in the hustle and bustle going on outside of the glass walls.

"The research team put it together. And I have the immense honour of going through every…agonising…detail with you. Lucky me." Jou's sarcasm did not go unnoticed and Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Now for the good stuff," Jou said, sounding half-hearted at best. He took a deep breath and started again.

"Your parents."

Kaiba's eye twitched, and he clenched his jaw reflexively. He never spoke about his parents, ever. He never would. Ever. He wasn't going to use the memory of his dead parents to sell video games; the very thought revolted him, infuriated him. Jou must have known that, his decidedly guilty face said as much. But he'd asked anyway, so Kaiba would answer. He grit his teeth and gave his entirely predictable reply.

"No," he ground out, voice dripping with venom.

"The orphanage."

"No."

"Gozaburo."

"No."

"Growing up Kaiba."

"No."

Was it his imagination, or was he getting louder each time? He didn't like how worked up these questions were making him, and he seriously wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. Jou must have been thinking the same thing, because instead of asking the next question, Jou just looked at him, and then back at the list. After a moment's deliberation, he perplexed Kaiba by slowly drawing a line through the next question, then the next, and the next.

"What are you doing?" he asked, curious.

"These get worse. I'm just saving my breath," Jou mumbled back. For all his grumbling, Kaiba knew that Jou was doing something kind and he should appreciate it, but he decided that it would be more awkward if he acknowledged it. So he said nothing as he watched Jou draw line after line, going halfway down the page until he came to a topic he thought Kaiba would accept.

"Your brother."

Kaiba hesitated. "What about him?"

Jou shrugged. "What it's like working together, do you ever fight, what do you guys do for fun?"

Kaiba considered it, and he decided that it was basically harmless. "Sure," he assented.

"Great," Jou droned, finally drawing a tick in the furthest column on the page. "Also," he added nonchalantly, "there might be some questions about sibling incest – just brush it off and change the subject!" He had to raise his voice over the sound of Kaiba sputtering angrily.

"Look, you guys are super close, and there are some weird people out there, and scandalous stuff gets a lot of attention, true or not. As long as you are not recorded losing your shit, you'll be fine," Jou glared at Kaiba sternly. Kaiba took some deep breaths, reminding himself that he was enduring this torture for the sake of his company, and Jou allowed a few moments for his rage to ebb before he continued.

"Okay, next. High school."

"What exactly about high school?" Kaiba asked, eyeing Jou warily. They still hadn't had a real conversation about what happened between them back then, or even acknowledged it, really, aside from snide comments and overt passive aggression, and Kaiba, for one, was glad to keep skirting the elephant in the room.

"Presumably…being a billionaire boy genius slumming it with the common folk?" Jou offered, giving no indication of any ulterior meaning. "It's what I would ask."

Kaiba's forehead creased slightly, and Jou elaborated. "I mean, you didn't need to be at school with us so, why even bother?"

"I was studying too," Kaiba said wryly. "Just not math, or science." Jou's brows knit together, and he went on.

"The dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Hierarchical structures in social institutions. Appropriate peer responses." Jou's features were a physical representation of a question mark, if Kaiba had ever seen one.

"I was studying all of you," he simplified. Gozaburo's education had been brutal; rigorous and exhaustive. But home-schooling had lacked ample opportunities for Kaiba to truly utilise all he'd learned, put theories to practice. Domino High was quite literally his playground, where he was free to test the limits of his skills, every last one of them.

"Aww, were you learning to run and play like a real boy?" Jou asked sarcastically.

Kaiba barked out a harsh laugh before he could stop himself. "Is that what you think I was doing? Trying to be a better person?" he asked, endlessly amused. Jou just continued to look baffled, and Kaiba realised that he really didn't get it. Jou typically saw the bright side of things, the hopeful, the sweet, which had always been his fatal flaw. No matter how much evidence there was to the contrary, Jou had always seemed to imagine some small, jagged speck of good in Kaiba. A tiny light shining in the darkness. It seemed he still did. How could he still be so naïve? Kaiba's amused expression morphed into something unintelligible.

"I was studying human behaviour," he started slowly, "so that I could learn to manipulate others more effectively."

It took a few moments before Kaiba's words sank in, before Jou responded.

"I guess I don't have to ask how that worked out," Jou said bitterly.

There it was again. That fat, fucking elephant. Maybe it would be better if he addressed it head-on, instead of just pretending like he'd forgotten that Jou was the cause of one of his top five adolescent traumas. Top ten, at least.

"Listen about what happened with us…" Kaiba started carefully, not willing to meet Jou's eyes yet, "…how it ended…" Kaiba looked up then, straight into Jou's horrified face. He halted instantly, he hadn't expected that reaction, and Jou swiftly cut in, taking advantage of his silence.

"Look, just don't! I'm over it, okay, and I never want to talk about it again! Especially not at my fucking office," Jou hissed with a ferocity that Kaiba had only seen briefly a week ago. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, and Jou looked down at his pages again, tucking his hair behind his ears, leaving Kaiba staring at him dumbly.

Well, that was that, then. It seemed that not only was Jou over it, he was adamant that no one else find out about it. At least they were on the same page in that regard. He wasn't entirely sure what he would have said to Jou if he hadn't been so rudely interrupted, but now he didn't have to think about it again, which was a relief. He'd had the idea that maybe they should try to start again, get off on the right foot, whatever that meant, for the sake of their work relationship, but now that Jou had thoroughly shut that down, he could stop toying with the notion of being this 'bigger man' that everyone talked about. It looked like apologies were for pussies after all. Not that he'd been planning on apologising for anything, of course.

"Well?" Jou asked after a heavy pause, rousing Kaiba from his thoughts. Jou looked normal, he sounded normal. Maybe he really was over it.

"Well, what?"

"High school?"

"No."

"Friends."

Kaiba opened his mouth to answer, but Jou interjected before he could start. "Not your brother."

Kaiba's mouth shut again.

"No," he said finally.

"Kaiba, it's been years since anyone's heard from you, far less gotten a real interview. You have to give them something."

Jou's apparent exasperation and his presumptuous words were the figurative last straw. He'd sat here for longer than he thought he could, subjecting himself to this torment, putting up with Jou's poking and prodding with nary a protest, on his best fucking behaviour, and Jou had the nerve, the _gall_ , to act like it was an obligation? Just who did Jou think he was talking to? He didn't have to give anybody anything. He didn't owe anyone anything. He was Seto Kaiba, genius, visionary, titan of industry. All he wanted, all he'd ever wanted was to create in peace, and no one would let him have that, even now. The sheer superficiality of this endeavour hit him like a slap in the face, and he was indignant, fuming. He erupted, directing all of that righteous anger at Jou.

"Give them something?! What more could they want? I'm giving them a state-of-the-art virtual reality gaming system with superior sensory immersion technology and amazing gameplay, perfected after years of meticulous research and testing!"

"And no one's gonna buy it unless they know what your favourite movie is," Jou replied patiently. Kaiba slammed his hand on the table snapped at Jou.

"My life is not an open book for any stranger to just thumb through on the bus! What I do in private has nothing to do with the things I make, the work I do. My privacy is an absolute necessity." He had learned that the hard way. But he wasn't about to regale Jou with his epiphanies on personal responsibility; he was the enemy right now, digging through the garbage of Kaiba's past like an emotional trash panda. He glared at Jou, who received his fury calmly.

"Kaiba, I get it, okay. I really do. It's tough, going through your life with a fine-tooth comb in some…" Jou gestured around them, "…random conference room. But you gotta know that you basically _are_ KaibaCorp. The company logo might as well be your face. Instead of hiding away, you should be taking advantage of that. I know you're a private person, and that's why we're doing this. If you don't wanna talk about it, you don't have to. But right now, let's just get through this list. Please."

Jou's low, gentle words were unexpectedly compelling, and despite himself, he felt some of his ire subside. Again, he was reminded that Jou wanted to be done with this as much as Kaiba did. He sounded exhausted, and he looked it too. Kaiba thought Jou also looked kind of pitiful. And a tad annoyed. And just a little sexy. That last one caught him off guard, and he pulled back, willing that stray thought to go back wherever the hell it came from.

Jou took Kaiba's silence as acquiescence and exhaled heavily, turning back to the list.

"Are you seeing anyone now?"

"Is that actually on there, or do you just want to know?" Kaiba asked without thinking.

"Ugh, don't flatter yourself, it's on here. Along with –" Jou flipped ahead a page and read out "– favourite sexual position, ideal date night and wildest sexual fantasy."

"I bet you could answer a couple of those," Kaiba said mischievously, but Jou refused to take the bait. Why had he even said that, though? Yet another thought he dismissed roundly.

"Current love interest?" Jou asked again, completely poker-faced.

Kaiba sighed, realising that there would be no derailing Jou's interminable questioning, not even with suggestive quips or tomfoolery.

"No."

"Past boyfriends."

"No."

Jou hesitated a beat before he read the next option on the list.

"Miki Yamamoto."

"No."

Of course he wouldn't talk about Miki. Again, he was sure Jou knew that. Kaiba eyed him silently when he didn't immediately move on, sensing that he had more to say. Jou hemmed and hawed, fidgeting with his pen for a moment before finally spitting it out.

"I…I was sorry about…what happened. With Miki."

"Why, did **you** kidnap him?"

He'd spoken without thinking yet again, and Jou recoiled, as if stung. "Shit, Kaiba, you can't stop being an asshole for just one second, can you?"

"You're right," Kaiba proffered. He trotted out his precious veneer of civility and said the things a decent person would say. "Thank you. It was…unfortunate."

Jou nodded, lost in thought. He stared at the pages in front of him, and Kaiba observed him, narrowing his eyes.

"I won't talk about that either," Kaiba said deliberately.

"What? No, I don't want to know about that," Jou said distractedly, turning the pages over.

And he really didn't. Jou had something totally unrelated on his mind. He already knew the answer about Miki would be no, a resounding one at that, but he'd had something he wanted to ask Kaiba about Miki for a long time. He never though that he would see Kaiba again, much less have this opportunity. He'd been thinking about it for years and now that the time had come, he was chickening out.

When Kaiba came back to Domino City six years ago, the first big story to hit the news about him was his new boyfriend. Yup. Boyfriend. On top of Kaiba coming back out of the blue, he had to deal with the double gut punch of Kaiba hooking up with Domino City's celebrity bachelor du jour, Miki Yamamoto, who just happened to be the most handsome, glamorous, wealthy socialite in town. It had pained Jou how perfect they were for each other, a sentiment that every media outlet in town was only too happy to expound upon, on what seemed like a daily basis, for months.

And then it all went to hell in a hand basket when someone snatched Miki and held him for ransom. Initially, it was reported it as a straightforward kidnapping, but then rumours started that it was all just an elaborate ploy to get to Kaiba. Eventually Miki was released – or rescued, no one knew for sure – and their relationship was soon over. The whole thing was a messy debacle, the details of which were extremely unclear, most likely on purpose. Not long after that, Kaiba faded from the spotlight and Mokuba gradually took over as the face of KaibaCorp. And Jou honestly wasn't interested in any of that, he couldn't care less what actually happened back then. But he did have one burning question.

Jou struggled with himself, the words gnawing on his insides.

"You want to say something," Kaiba stated, head cocked to the side. "You always bite your lip like that when you want to say something you think you shouldn't. Go ahead."

Jou immediately pressed his lips flat, simultaneously self-conscious and strangely pleased that Kaiba had remembered something so trivial, yet so intimate about him. He shouldn't be surprised though, Kaiba did have an almost photographic memory. It didn't really mean anything. Nothing at all. He considered Kaiba, not nearly as brave as he was pretending to be, as he hoped he looked.

"When you were with him, did you…" Jou willed himself to finish the sentence. Love him. Did you love him? He opened his mouth to try again, but a hard rap at the door interrupted him. They both turned to look at the beautiful woman standing in the doorway, smiling alluringly at Jou.

"Sorry to intrude," she said to Kaiba charmingly. "Jou, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Saved by the belle, he thought. Hana Kondo was one of the reps from another branch who made frequent trips to Domino City; he'd had no idea she was in town. He almost leapt out of his seat, eager to get away from Kaiba and this stifling room, but he could practically feel the chill radiating from across the table like thick fog. He was still on the clock, after all.

"May I?" he made an exaggerated show of asking Kaiba with faux deference.

Kaiba gave his silent approval, merely raising his eyebrows and inclining his head. Jou crossed the room in record time, pulling the door closed behind him and turning his back to Kaiba to face his visitor. She was tall and graceful, effortlessly stylish with a mischievous smile on her gorgeous face; a sight for sore eyes.

"Hey, big shot," she said, pulling him down to kiss his cheek.

"Sorry, but I didn't think you'd be in there this long, and I have to take off now." She sounded apologetic, but only just. He liked that abut her, she never wasted time or words. Or emotions.

"It's okay, Hana. Long time, no see. What didja want to talk about?"

But he didn't need to ask, he already knew the drill. She was only in town until the end of the week, and she'd like the pleasure of his company sometime. Would he give her a call, when he was free?

He took the piece of paper she offered him with her address, and truly regretted that the walls were all glass right now. He knew Kaiba's shrewd eyes were on his back, taking in every movement, every detail like a hawk. He smiled at her, disarming and agreeable, promising to see her soon, and then she was leaving, and he had to return once more into the fray.

"Well, aren't you popular," Kaiba drawled as Jou took his seat again.

"You know what they say, all work and no play," Jou said lightly, shuffling his papers.

"I guess the rumours are true," Kaiba said snidely, and Jou bristled. What did Kaiba say he heard, again? All he remembered was 'womaniser.' He took offence at that characterisation of him; anyone who knew him knew that he was an equal-opportunity whore. But he wasn't going to set Kaiba straight, nor was he going to let Kaiba make him squirm. He was a grown man, and whatever he did in his bedroom, or the hotel around the corner, or a restaurant bathroom across town was none of Kaiba's concern. Just who did he think he was, anyway? What gave him the right to –

"So, what were you going to ask me?" Kaiba questioned, breaking his irritated train of thought and bringing him back to The Question.

Which was pathetic, Jou knew. He had wondered all these years if Kaiba had loved Miki, if they were really as perfect together as the tabloids made them look. You know, until their hideous implosion. If Kaiba did, then that meant that he was capable of love, he just didn't love Jou. But if he didn't love Miki either, then it wasn't just him, maybe it was everyone else too, and Kaiba could probably never love anyone as long as he lived.

But did it really matter? At the end of the day, the result was the same, wasn't it? Kaiba had left Jou, plain and simple. It didn't matter why, did it? Jou studied Kaiba, who looked back at him expectantly, those haughty blue eyes boring into his. Of course it mattered, Jou mentally scoffed. But he couldn't ask, not least because he was actually afraid of the answer. Kaiba would probably never tell him anyway, though, and asking would be the equivalent of baring his neck and offering Kaiba his jugular. And handing him the knife. That's why he had shut Kaiba down so forcefully before when he tried to bring up their dirty little secret; the second they started talking about their history, things would come out that he wanted to keep believing he'd moved past, that he wanted to keep buried. If he asked about Miki now, well…he'd never recover from the devastation that one question would wreak.

"Doesn't matter," Jou said finally. "Let's get back to the list. America."

Kaiba observed Jou, a strange look on his face. For a second, it seemed that he was going to push the issue, and Jou braced for a typical Kaiba barrage, cringing internally as he moved to speak at last.

"What about America?"

 **o.o.o.o.o.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.o.o.o.o.o.**

 **Thank you to all those who read and reviewed! Also, I absolutely detest Mary Sues, but here we are.**


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